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Features - Reading and the World Cup

The following details Reading players, past and present, who have appeared, or nearly appeared, in the world's greatest sporting event.

The first three sections refer only to players who have played for Reading in first team competitive games. Trialists, guests and management appear in the fourth section, together with some near misses.

Reading players who went to the World Cup

It took 76 years before a Reading player made it to the World Cup, with United States of America naming both Bobby Convey and Marcus Hahnemann in their squad for the 2006 finals in Germany.

  1. Bobby Convey (United States of America)

    On 12th June, 2006 Bobby Convey became the first ever Reading player to appear in the World Cup. He played a part in all three of the group games, as follows:

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 Group stage 12/6/2006 Czech Republic VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany Lost 0-3  
    2 Group stage 17/6/2006 Italy Fritz Walter Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany Drew 1-1 Substituted after 52 minutes (1-1)
    2 Group stage 22/6/2006 Ghana Frankenstadion, Nuremburg, Germany Lost 1-2 Came on as a substitute after 74 minutes (1-2)

    Final group table:

        P W D L F A GD Pts
    1 Italy 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7
    2 Ghana 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6
    3 Czech Republic 3 1 0 2 3 4 -1 3
    4 United States of America 3 0 1 2 2 6 -4 1

    After finishing last in the group, obviously United States of America failed to reach the next round.

  2. Marcus Hahnemann (United States of America)

    Marcus was in the USA squad for the 2006 tournament in Germany but made no appearances. For match details and standings, see Bobby Convey above.

 

Players who went to the World Cup after leaving Reading

  1. Jimmy Murray (Scotland)

    Jimmy Murray played a few games on loan for Reading in 1953. Later he became the first person to have played both for Reading and in the World Cup, and also the first to score a goal.

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 Group stage 8/6/1958 Yugoslavia Arosvallen, Västerås, Sweden Drew 1-1 Scored after 48 minutes (1-1)
    2 Group stage 15/6/1986 France Eyravallen, Örebro, Sweden Lost 1-2  

    Scotland finished last in their group and were eliminated at the group stage.

  2. Bob Lenarduzzi (Canada)

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 Group stage 1/6/1986 France Estadio Nou Camp, Leon, Mexico Lost 0-1  
    2 Group stage 6/6/1986 Hungary Estadio Irapuato, Irapuato, Mexico Lost 0-2  
    3 Group stage 9/6/1986 Soviet Union Estadio Irapuato, Irapuato, Mexico Lost 0-2  

    Canada finished last in their group and so did not progress to the knock-out stages.

  3. Jim Leighton (Scotland)

    See the next next section, because Leighton played in the World Cup both before and after playing for Reading.

  4. Kerry Dixon (England)

    Kerry Dixon's World Cup career lasted for four minutes plus injury time, which is the shortest of any player listed here who made it onto the pitch.

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 Group stage 11/6/1986 Poland Estadio Universitario, Monterrey, Mexico Won 3-0 Came on as a substitute after 86 minutes (3-0)

    England progressed to the quarter-finals.

  5. Neil Webb (England)

    Neil Webb holds the distinction of being the first Reading-born Reading player to appear in the World Cup.

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 3rd / 4th place match 7/7/1990 Italy Stadio San Nicola, Bari, Italy Lost 1-2 Came on as a substitute after 73 minutes (0-1)

    England finished fourth, so Neil Webb left the tournament with a medal.

  6. Shaka Hislop (Trinidad & Tobago)

    Shaka Hislop joined Reading in 1992. He appeared in the 2006 World Cup in Germany for Trinidad & Tobago.

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 Group stage 10/6/2006 Sweden Westfalen Stadion, Dortmund, Germany Drew 0-0  
    2 Group stage 15/6/2006 England Frankenstadion, Nuremburg, Germany Lost 0-2  

    Trinidad & Tobago finished last in their group so did not progress in the tournament.

 

Players who went to the World Cup before joining Reading

  1. Steve Archibald (Scotland)

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 Group stage 15/6/1982 New Zealand Estadio La Rosaleda, Malaga, Spain Won 5-2 Came on as a substitute after 53 minutes (3-0).
    Scored after 80 minutes (5-2).
    2 Group stage 18/6/1982 Brazil Estadio Benito Villamarin, Seville, Spain Lost 1-4  
    3 Group stage 22/6/1982 New Zealand Estadio La Rosaleda, Malaga, Spain Drew 2-2  
    4 Group stage 8/6/1986 West Germany Estadio La Corregidora, Queretaro, Mexico Lost 1-2  

    Scotland were eliminated at the group stage in both tournaments.

  2. Bobby Mikhailov (Bulgaria)

    We didn't know it at the time the tournaments took place but of all Reading players, Mikhailov has played the most World Cup games.

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 Group stage 31/5/1986 Italy Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico Drew 1-1  
    2 Group stage 5/6/1986 South Korea Estadio Olimpico '68, Mexico City, Mexico Drew 1-1  
    3 Group stage 10/6/1986 Argentina Estadio Olimpico '68, Mexico City, Mexico Lost 0-2  
    4 Second round 15/6/1986 Mexico Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico Lost 0-2  
    5 Group stage 21/6/1994 Nigeria Cotton Bowl, Dallas, United States of America Lost 0-3  
    6 Group stage 26/6/1994 Greece Soldier Field, Chicago, United States of America Won 4-0  
    7 Group stage 30/6/1994 Argentina Cotton Bowl, Dallas, United States of America Won 2-0  
    8 Second round 5/7/1994 Mexico Giants Stadium, New Jersey, United States of America Drew 1-1 Bulgaria won 3-1 on penalties.
    Mikhailov faced four penalties - the
    first was missed, he saved the next
    two and conceded the fourth.
    9 Quarter-final 10/7/1994 Germany Giants Stadium, New Jersey, United States of America Won 2-1  
    10 Semi-final 13/7/1994 Italy Giants Stadium, New Jersey, United States of America Lost 1-2  
    11 3rd / 4th place match 16/7/1994 Sweden Rose Bowl, Los Angeles, United States of America Lost 0-4 Substituted at half-time (0-4)

    In 1986 Bulgaria reached the last 16, whilst in 1994 they finished fourth.

  3. Jim Leighton (Scotland)

    Jim Leighton's first World Cup experience was as a non-playing member of Scotland's 1982 squad. He then played in both of the next two tournaments, and had a loan spell with Reading in 1991. He missed 1994 along with the whole of Scotland and played again in 1998. Thanks to "papereyes" for correcting me about 1998.

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 Group stage 4/6/1986 Denmark Estadio Neza '86, Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico Lost 0-1  
    2 Group stage 8/6/1986 West Germany Estadio La Corregidora, Queretaro, Mexico Lost 1-2  
    3 Group stage 13/6/1986 Uruguay Estadio Neza '86, Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico Drew 0-0  
    4 Group stage 11/6/1990 Costa Rica Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy Lost 0-1  
    5 Group stage 16/6/1990 Sweden Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy Won 2-1  
    6 Group stage 20/6/1990 Brazil Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin, Italy Lost 0-1  
    7 Group stage 10/6/1998 Brazil Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France Lost 1-2  
    8 Group stage 16/6/1998 Norway Stade Lescure, Bordeaux, France Drew 1-1  
    9 Group stage 20/6/1998 Morocco Stade Geoffroy Guichard, St Etienne, France Lost 0-3  

    Scotland were eliminated at the group stage in all four tournaments where Leighton was involved.

  4. Jimmy Quinn (Northern Ireland)

    Jimmy Quinn was a non-playing member of Northern Ireland's 1986 World Cup squad. He joined Reading in 1992 and later became player-manager.

  5. Ray Houghton (Republic of Ireland)

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 Group stage 11/6/1990 England Stadio Sant' Elia, Cagliari, Italy Drew 1-1  
    2 Group stage 17/6/1990 Egypt Stadio Della Favorita, Palermo, Italy Drew 0-0  
    3 Group stage 21/6/1990 Holland Stadio Della Favorita, Palermo, Italy Drew 1-1  
    4 Second round 25/6/1990 Rumania Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy Drew 0-0 Republic of Ireland won 5-4 on penalties.
    Houghton took and scored the second penalty.
    5 Quarter-final 30/6/1990 Italy Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy Lost 0-1  
    6 Group stage 18/6/1994 Italy Giants Stadium, New Jersey, United States of America Won 1-0 Scored after 12 minutes (1-0).
    Was substituted after 67 minutes (1-0).
    7 Group stage 24/6/1994 Mexico Citrus Bowl, Orlando, United States of America Lost 0-2  
    8 Group stage 28/6/1994 Norway Giants Stadium, New Jersey, United States of America Drew 0-0  
    9 Second round 4/7/1994 Holland Citrus Bowl, Orlando, United States of America Lost 0-2  

    Republic of Ireland reached the last eight in 1990 and the last 16 in 1994.

  6. Robert Fleck (Scotland)

    Played in the World Cup in 1990. Joined Reading in 1998.

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 Group stage 16/6/1990 Sweden Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy Won 2-1 Substituted after 84 minutes (2-0)
    2 Group stage 20/6/1990 Brazil Stadio delli Alpi, Turin, Italy Lost 0-1 Came on as a substitute after 77 minutes (0-0)

    Scotland were eliminated at the group stage.

  7. Chris Woods (England)

    Chris Woods was a non-playing member of England's 1990 World Cup squad. He played for Reading on loan in 1995.

  8. Martin Keown (England)

    Martin Keown was a non-playing member of England's World Cup squads in both 1998 and 2002. He had a short spell at Reading in 2005.

  9. Seol Ki-Hyeon (South Korea)

    Seol joined Reading in July 2006. He has played in both the 2002 and 2006 World Cups for South Korea.

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 Group stage 4/6/2002 Poland Asiad Main Stadium, Busan, South Korea Won 2-0 Substituted after 90 minutes (2-0)
    2 Group stage 10/6/2002 United States
    of America    		 World Cup Stadium, Daegu, South Korea Drew 1-1  
    3 Group stage 14/6/2002 Portugal Munhak Stadium, Incheon, South Korea Won 1-0  
    4 Second round 18/6/2002 Italy World Cup Stadium, Daejeon, South Korea Won 2-1 Scored after 90 minutes (1-1)
    5 Quarter-final 22/6/2002 Spain World Cup Stadium, Gwangju, South Korea Drew 0-0 South Korea won 5-3 on penalties.
    Seol took and scored the third penalty (3-2)
    6 Semi-final 25/6/2002 Germany World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea Lost 0-1 Came on a substitute after 80 minutes (0-1)
    7 3rd / 4th place match 29/6/2002 Turkey World Cup Stadium, Daegu, South Korea Lost 2-3 Substituted after 79 minutes (1-3)
    8 Group stage 18/6/2006 France Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany Drew 1-1 Came on a substitute at half-time (0-1)
    9 Group stage 23/6/2006 Switzerland AWD Arena, Hannover, Germany Lost 0-2 Came on a substitute after 66 minutes (0-1)

    South Korea came 4th in 2002 when they were joint hosts, but in 2006 they finished third in their group and so were eliminated at the group stage.

  10. Ulises De La Cruz (Ecuador)

    Ulises de la Cruz played for Ecuador in both the 2002 and 2006 World Cups - in fact he has played in every minute of every game that Ecuador has ever played at the World Cup. He joined Reading in August 2006.

      Round Date Opponents Venue Result Comments
    1 Group stage 3/6/2002 Italy Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan Lost 0-2  
    2 Group stage 9/6/2002 Mexico Miyagi Stadium, Miyagi, Japan Lost 1-2  
    3 Group stage 13/6/2002 Croatia Yokohama International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan Won 1-0  
    4 Group stage 9/6/2006 Poland VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany Won 2-0  
    5 Group stage 15/6/2006 Costa Rica AOL Arena, Hamburg, Germany Won 3-0  
    6 Group stage 20/6/2006 Germany Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany Lost 0-3  
    7 Second round 25/6/2006 England Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany Lost 0-1  

    Ecuador finished fourth in their group in 2002 and were eliminated, but finished second in the 2006 group and so reached the second round.

  11. Emerse Faé (Côte d'Ivoire)

    Emerse Faé was a non-playing member of Côte d'Ivoire's 2006 World Cup squad. He joined Reading in 2007.

 

Other World Cup connections

Here are a few other players with Reading connections who appeared (or nearly appeared) in the World Cup.

  1. Roy Bentley (England)

    When England finally decided to take part in the World Cup, Roy Bentley was part of the squad that travelled to Brazil in 1950. He played the first two games. In 1963 he became manager of Reading.

  2. Allenby Chilton (England)

    Allenby Chilton was a wartime guest for Reading. He later made the 1954 England World Cup squad but did not play a game during the tournament in Switzerland.

  3. David Jones (Wales)

    It is very difficult to believe now but Wales actually appeared in the 1958 final tournament in Sweden. They were of course eliminated during the qualifying competition (as has been the case at every tournament), but thanks to political interference managed to get an undeserved backdoor entry to the finals. Reading's David Jones was in the initial 40-man squad but did not make the final cut of those that went to Sweden. As he was Welsh he of course never had another chance.

  4. Martin Peters (England)

    Martin Peters was part of the England team that won the World Cup in 1966 and also played in the 1970 tournament in Mexico. He later played for Reading as a guest in a friendly match.

  5. Peter Bonetti (England)

    Peter Bonetti signed as an amateur with Reading before moving to Chelsea. He was in the 1966 World Cup squad but did not play a game. He did not get a medal as only those who played in the final received one. Bonetti was also in the 1970 squad, and played one game, replacing the ill Gordon Banks in the 1970 quarter-final.

  6. Peter Osgood (England)

    Peter Osgood had a trial with Reading and was rejected. He later played two World Cup group games in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. He was also in the initial 40-man squad for the 1966 tournament, but did not make the provisional 28-man squad or the final squad of 22.

  7. Steve Coppell (England)

    Steve Coppell played four games in the 1982 tournament for England. In 2003 he became manager of Reading.

  8. Kevin Dillon (England)

    Kevin Dillon was one of the players on stand-by for the England squad for the World Cup in Spain in 1982, but did not get a call-up. Later in his career he signed for Reading, and later still became a coach and then assistant manager.

  9. Pat Bonner (Republic of Ireland)

    Pat Bonner played in the 1990 and 1994 World Cup final tournaments, in fact playing in all the same matches as Ray Houghton, listed above. Bonner later joined Reading as assistant manager and also played the odd reserve game.

  10. Kelvin Jack (Trinidad & Tobago)

    Kelvin Jack was an unsuccessful trialist with Reading in 2001. He made the Trinidad & Tobago squad for the 2006 tournament in Germany, missed their first game only through an injury picked up in the players' tunnel, but did get to play in the third match.

  11. Anthony Rougier (Trinidad & Tobago)

    Anthony Rougier played for Reading between 2000 and 2003. He was in the initial 24-man squad named by Trinidad & Tobago for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but was the player left out when they announced their final squad of 23.

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